7 February 2007

178 schools get funding to extend high standards

Education Minister Chris Cater today announced funding of $10 million to help New Zealand schools boost their performance by sharing good ideas.

Chris Carter said 178 schools will benefit from grants under the Extending High Standards Across Schools (EHSAS) initiative, designed to help clusters of schools develop and share their best teaching practices.

“Improvements in student achievement come about when schools take the funding and support government provides and marry it with good ideas of their own,” Chris Carter said.

“The Labour-led government wants to resource our schools to make sure they are the best they can be. Extending High Standards Across Schools does just that, giving participating schools the means to share and develop the best ideas.”

Schools receive their funding in groups, or clusters, comprising primary and/or secondary schools. All clusters have a focus on teacher practice and student achievement, particularly in literacy and numeracy. Other areas of focus include boys’ achievement, Maori achievement and developing the potential of gifted and talented children.

The latest round of funding is distributed to 31 clusters, involving 178 individual schools nationwide. The clusters are the third group to receive funding through the EHSAS initiative. The first schools involved have been working on their four-year projects since April 2006.

“There are now more than 100,000 students and more than 500 schools benefiting from the funding provided by the EHSAS initiative,” Chris Carter said.

The third round of EHSAS will begin in Term 1 2008, with successful schools to receive funding in 2008.

For further information about the schools in each of the 31 clusters receiving funding through the third round of the EHSAS initiative, visit
www.minedu.govt.nz/goto/extending

ENDS

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